Scoop for measuring plastic material.



L. y0. WELLS. SCOOP FOR MEASURING PLASTIC MATERIAL. l

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15, 1910.

Patented May 23, v1911.

. TTUR/VEYS LAWRENCE O. WELLS, 0F BONNE TERRE, MISSOURI.l

'SCOOP FOR MEASURING PLASTIC MATERIAL.

, rSpeciicationof Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, 1911.

Application filed .Tune 15, 1910. Serial No. 567,090.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAWRENCE O. WELLs, a citizen of the United States, and a resi-V dent of Bonne Terre, lin thecounty of St. Francois and State of Missouri, have invented a new and Improved Scoop for Measuring Plastic Material, of which thev following is a full, clear, and exact description. X

My invention relates to scoops for plastic materials such as lard and butter, ice-cream, and so-called peanut butter and maple butter. l

More particularly stated, my invention comprehends a scoop of the general type described in Patent No. 874,277, to H. L. Adams and myself, this patent bearing date of December 17, 1907. c

The main object of my present invention is to improve the means whereby the plastic materials are to be loosened from a receptacle containing them and afterward ejected from the barrel of the scoop.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a .part of this specification, in which similar vcharacters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the gures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing ythe scoop complete; Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow and showing the internal mechanism of the scoop; Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 4cis an enlarged section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, looking in the direct-ion of the arrow; and Fig. 5 is a detail showing an enlargedv section of the barrel. n

At 5 is a barrel comprising a cylindrical member 5a of sheet material having coatings 5b, 5c of enamel upon it for the purpose of giving it a smooth glossy surface to which plastic materials will not adhere with undue firmness. The barrel 5 is held by disks 6, 7, the latter being mounted upon the lower end of a cylindrical guide 8. This guide is provided with a raised bead 9 of annular form, and resting against this bead is a ring 10 which is engaged by the disk 7. The lower end of the cylindrical guide 8 is threaded externally and threaded Ato'turn upon it is the disk 6. By turning the cylindrical ide 8, the disk 6 is forced against the adjacent end of the barrel 5, thereby clamping the `same against the disk 7. The

i ycylindrical guide 8 is provided with a slot 11 and adjacent to the upper end of this slot is a handle 12 mounted firmly upon the cylindrical guide. An annular plug13 isy mounted upon the end of the cylindrical guide 8 and partially closes the same. Ex

tending through the annular plug 13 isv a tubular piston rod 14 having its upper portion 15 threaded. lTwo nuts 16, 17 are threaded to Jit upon this threaded portion, and between these nuts is a handle 18.

At 19 is a tubular slidewhich encircles the piston rod 14 and is provided with a boss 19a extending outwardly through the slot 11. This slide 19 carries a thumb screw 2O extending directly through the boss 19a and adapted to press against the piston rod 14 so as to clamp the slide 19 firmly in po-v sition thereupon. p

At 21 is an indicating ring which is detachably held upon the boss 19a by aid of a thumb screw 22. By removing this thumb `screw the indicating ring 21 may be turned into various positions, and when the screw 22 is replaced, the indicating ring is held in such position. ,The indicating ring is provided with holes 23 through any one ofV which the screw 22 may be inserted, as will be understood from Fig. 4. The indicating ring also carries a pointer 24 and when turned into various positions, this pointer is in alinement with the various numerical `scales upon the outside of the cylindrical guide 8, as shown more particularly in Fig. 1.

v yLoosely engaging the upper end of the piston rod 14 is a thumb piece 25 which is mounted rigidly upon a long rod 26 servingthe purpose of a piston rod and being, to some extent, independent of the tubular piston rod 14, as hereinafter explained. Mounted rigidly upon the lower end of the piston rod 26 and revoluble therewith is a piston 27. When the thumb piece 25 (see top of Fig. 2) is turned, the piston rod 26 and the piston 27 turn with it, all other parts remaining stationary.

The lower end of the tubular piston rod 14 carries a disk 28 of metal and engaging the same is an annular packing or gasket 28"; engaging this gasket is a ring or disk 28a. The parts 28, 28a, 28b together constitute a piston which as a unit is carried by the tubular piston rod 14. This piston, like the tubular'piston rod 14, does lnot turn. At 29 is a wire extending diametrically across the the purpose of holding this wire the barrel is provided with two notches 30 disposed directly opposite each other. The wire 29 has a rectangular cross section and is held by two rods 31. A yoke 32 holds in position the upper ends of these rods, which are threaded and are fitted with nuts 33. The graduations upon the guide 8 are enameled in red.

The operation of my device is as follows: Suppose the operator desires to measure a given number of cents worth of a given commodity. For instance, he desires to sell 1095 worth of lard, the price of which is 45e a pound. He pushes the thumb piece 25 downwardly so that the disk 27 is in its lowermost position, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. He next moves the screw 22 and turns the indicating ring 21 into such position that the pointer 24 is in registry with a particular group of graduations upon the outside of the cylindrical guide 8. The numbers shown upon the outside of the indicating ring assist the operator in determining` to what extent the ring should be turned. The various numbers shown upon the indicating ring correspond with the various holes 23 thereof, each number upon the ring indicating a particular price per pound.

The ring 21 being turned so that the pointer 24 is in proper position, the screw 22 is replaced. The operator neXt grasps the screw 20 and loosening it moves the-slide 19a upward until the pointer 24 is brought into registry with the particular numerical graduation corresponding to the number of cents worth of the article to be sold. That is to say, if the purchaser desires 10c worth of the article, the slide 19a and the indicating ring 21 are moved upwardly until the pointer 24 comes into registry with the numerical graduation 10. The screw 20 is now turned so as to clamp the slide 19 rigidly in this position upon the tubular piston rod 14. During all this time, it will be remembered, the piston 27 is at the lower end of the barrel 5, yet when the slide 19 is moved upwardly and fastened as just described, the distance from the upper end of the slide to the upper end of the slot 11 is correspondingly lessened. The operator next thrusts the lower end of the barrel 5 into the lard or other plastic material. As he does this, the piston 27 and other movable parts immediately adjacent to the same are moved directly upward by the back pressure of the plastic material. The scoop being driven farther into the plastic material, the slide 19 reaches the limit of its travelthat is... it reaches the upper end of the slot 11 and can travel no farther. The operator now gives the entire device a twist which causes the wire 29 to cut' through the plastic material. He then, by pulling upon the cylindrical guide 8, withdraws the barrel 5 from the plastic material. The upward. travel of the piston 27, due to back pressure of the plastic material, as above described, raises both piston rods 14 and 26, and in so doing pushes the handle 18 farther away from the handle 12. Next, the operator places the barrel 5 over a dish or the like, and by forcing the handle 18 back toward they handle 12, causes the piston 27, by pressure upon the plastic material held by the barrel, to eject said plastic material into the dish. Since, however, the plastic material may cling to the piston 27, the operator grasps the thumb piece 25, and by turning it causes the rotation of the piston rod 26 and piston 27. As the latter turns, in close proximity to the wire 29, this wire cuts the plastic material away from the cylinder and thus completely disengages the charge of plastic material. rlhe precise amount of the plastic material to be sold for the particular price under discussion (say, 10e) is thus measured off in the barrel and afterward ejected.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

The combination of a barrel provided with an open end and with notches upon said open end, a cutting member extending across said open end from one of said notches to another, a pair of rods connected with the respective end of said cutting member, a cylindrical guide connected with said barrel for enabling the latter to be handled by the operator, a yoke mounted upon said barrel and connected with said rods for the purpose of holding said cut-ting member tightly in relation to said barrel, said yoke having an opening through which said guide eX- tends, a piston movably mounted within said barrel for the purpose of ejecting charges of plastic material therefrom, and a piston rod connected with said piston and extending through said cylindrical guide and through said opening in said yoke.

lin testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LAWRENCE O. WELLS. Witnesses W. E. WELLER, J. H. MALUGEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

